Former fund manager turned cryptocurrency investor Mike Novogratz of Galaxy Investment Partners has claimed that digital currencies like Bitcoin will be adopted in the mainstream financial sector in the next six to eight months.

He added that major financial companies will be offering the virtual currencies as investment options.

In his speech at the Reuters Global 2018 Investment Outlook Summit in late 2017, Novogratz forecast that a major financial company could soon offer the digital currencies as investment options. He, however, declined to reveal the identity of the financial firm but claimed that this will have a major impact on the price of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies.

“The institutionalisation of this space is coming. It’s coming pretty quick. When it’s that easy, the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum is going to go much higher. And that is a lot closer than people think.”

Issues hitting cryptocurrencies

Despite their growing popularity, there are several issues that adversely affect the performance of the digital currencies, particularly Bitcoin and Ethereum. One of these issues is price volatility.

In early November 2017, Bitcoin has reached a record high of $7,879.06 before declining significantly over the weekend. On Nov. 13, the cryptocurrency began trading at $5,857.32 and has already increased to more than $6,700 so far.

However, former JP Morgan banker and cryptocurrency enabler CommerceBlock founder Nicholas Gregory claims that Bitcoin’s volatility is only a “slideshow”.

“Prices of digital currencies have been on a rollercoaster ride lately but this violent volatility is actually all a bit of a sideshow. The simple reason is that plenty of people hold billions of pounds worth of cryptocurrency right now at no risk.”

Meanwhile, one of the popular wallets for the digital currency Ethereum was frozen in early November. This has resulted in the freezing of about $280 million worth of crypto tokens.

Free newsletter signup

Never miss another Bankless Times news story as we send you hand-picked articles every morning

We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else. You will only receive our daily newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Paul Sciglar is a columnist interested in international policies and economic affairs. Certified Accountant with broad experience in strategic analysis, FP&A, investment banking, and investment management. You may connect with him on Twitter.